Nick and Nora Charles
Nick and Nora Charles, or Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Charles (which is short for his
Greek moniker "Charalambides"), are the characters created by
Dashiell Hammett in his novel
The Thin Man. Nick is a retired
private detective and Nora a wealthy society woman whose snobbish family thinks she has married beneath herself; Hammett modeled her on his lover
Lillian Hellman. Their banter provides comic relief of the type that would later be seen between
John Steed and
Emma Peel in
The Avengers. The couple have a pet dog, Asta, who is a
schnauzer (but became a
wire fox terrier when the book was made into a film).
The film adaptation of
The Thin Man was a resounding success, and although Hammett never wrote another novel with Nick and Nora Charles, five movie sequels were produced. In the novel, Nick Charles is overweight and out of shape; the "thin man" is in fact the murder victim. However, Nick Charles was portrayed by the slim actor
William Powell, naturally confusing the audience into thinking Nick was the title character. The movie producers capitalized on this confusion, and inserted "thin man" in the titles of the sequels to indicate Nick and Nora stories.
Nick and Nora were the inspirations for the adoptive parents of
Mary Marvel, Nick and Nora Bromfield, as well as the relationship between
Ralph and
Sue Dibny.
Nora is portrayed by
Myrna Loy in the adaptations.
Trivia: There is a reference to Nick and Nora in the title of an episode of the
Gilmore Girls, Nick and Nora /
Sid and Nancy.
